New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Finance Committee approved the purchase of M-9A Passenger Railcars on June 23.

This order includes 316 M-9A cars — 160 cars will be allocated to the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) fleet and 156 for Metro-North Railroad. 

“New Yorkers deserve a fast, reliable, and comfortable transit system. We are delivering that today through the purchase of modern railcars for the LIRR and Metro-North fleets,” Governor Hochul said. “The commuter rails are a lifeline for riders in one of the world’s largest and busiest transit systems — this is how we continue to achieve record on-time performance.” 

Alstom Transportation will deliver pilot cars in 2029, first entering LIRR passenger service in 2030. All cars will be delivered by 2032.

The M-9A cars are needed to replace Metro-North’s M-3 cars beyond their service life and allow the LIRR to retire its M-3 cars, whose service has been extended to support service with the opening of Grand Central Madison. These railcars will operate in LIRR electric territories and on the Metro-North Hudson and Harlem lines. 

New Railcars Coming to Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North

This approval builds on the MTA’s ongoing efforts to modernize its rolling stock fleet. The M-9A cars feature glass windows, USB charging ports, and accessibility improvements, including automatic bathroom doors. 

“We’re looking to buy almost 2,000 rail cars as part of the new Capital Plan — $10.9 billion worth — and this 300+ order gets us off to a strong start,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “I want to thank Governor Hochul for her work to secure the funding that made it possible.” 

“The MTA is the biggest railcar purchaser in North America, and we are using innovative methods to bring down costs and delivery time,” MTA Chief of Rolling Stock Program Tim Mulligan said. “By building on the reliable design of previous cars, we were able to work with the contractor to get things done better, faster, and cheaper.” 

“Thanks to record on-time performance and increased service with the opening of Grand Central Madison, LIRR ridership continues to explode,” Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said. “Our customers deserve modern railcars, which will result in even more reliable service and improve the customer experience for years to come.” 

I’m excited for our customers to experience even more reliable service when the M-9A railcars join our fleet,” Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek said. “We are committed to providing the best customer experience every day on every ride on Metro-North.”